Compare the way Wilfred Owen’s “The Send-off” and Erno Muller’s “Assault” deal with war and it’s effects.

Authors Avatar

David Reed                5/9/2007

Compare the way Wilfred Owen’s “The Send-off” and Erno Muller’s “Assault” deal with war and it’s effects.

Both Owen’s and Muller’s poems were written about World War 1 and so the two poems are especially similar in some respects, even though different poets wrote them. There are still a large number of differences between the two poems. Some similarities and differences are naturally easier to spot than others; some only become apparent after extensive study. These differences and similarities occur in style, the way the poems deal with war and it effects as well as many other things.

In “The Send-off” by Wilfred Owen the story is told of the soldiers departing on a train for the war. It depicts the men at the siding shed and on the train, leaving their loved ones and all the things that they have worked for to go and fight on the frontline and probably die. The storyline is the start of what is likely to be the last train journey for the majority of the men on board. As the train departs with the men on board so do we leave them. In “Assault” by Erno Muller the story about a group of World War 1 soldiers is being relayed to us, of how they got caught in a gas attack and how it causes someone to die. The soldiers then have to get out of the trench and attack the enemy, the story shows the ‘real world’ of war.

The tone of “The Send-off” is one that condemns the deaths of those that participated and how far too many men died, “a few, a few, too few [may return]” the fact that Wilfred Owen is saying too few return, means too many die, this then means that is condemning the war and waste of human life. When talking about the departure Owen wrote “So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up”, which talks about how the men being sent off to fight and probably die is wrong, so he is condemning it. “Assault” by Erno Muller also has a condemning tone, there are no outstanding quotes representing this -however the underlying view of the author can be picked up as more of the poem is read. There is also a sarcastic tone although this does not feature in “The Send-off” “Assault” uses it at the end to good effect, “God, this is fun!” One can get the impression that some see war as ‘fun’ or ‘good’, this poem has sarcasm to show how wrong they are.

Join now!

The voice in “The Send-off” is in a 3rd person perspective. It is narrated by someone who is there looking at the men and women being affected but is not involved with those there directly, words like “their” and “they” give us this impression. It also sounds like someone who knows a large amount about the occurrences of the war and resents it. It is almost as if it is the soul of a soldier who died fighting in the war and he resents this. “Assault” has a 1st person perspective. It sounds like someone who had experienced it and survived. ...

This is a preview of the whole essay